Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T05:16:26.547Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Analysis of typical locomotion of a symmetric hexapod robot

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2009

Z.-Y. Wang ,
X.-L. Ding  and
A. Rovetta
Z.-Y. Wang*
Affiliation:
Robotics Research Institute, Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics, Beijing 100083, China Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lamasa 34, Milan 20156, Italy
X.-L. Ding
Affiliation:
Robotics Research Institute, Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics, Beijing 100083, China
A. Rovetta
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lamasa 34, Milan 20156, Italy
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: zhiying.wang@mail.polimi.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In recent years hexagonal hexapod robots gained the interest of international research community. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, after summarizing all known gaits of such robots, we introduce some improvements both for normal conditions and for fault tolerance. Then we show the advantages of hexagonal hexapod robots over rectangular ones by comparing different gaits from theoretical and experimental points of view. Stability, fault tolerance, turning ability, and terrain adaptability are analyzed. For reaching these aims we also introduce a robot kinematics that considers at the same time supporting and transferring legs. The trajectories of feet are described as well. Finally, single leg stride selection is studied for side wave and for kick-off gaits to optimize walking ability and energy management.

The theoretical results presented herein have been validated with experiments conducted on a prototype of the Novel Robotics System for Planetary Exploration (Rovetta et al., “New Robot Concepts for Mars Soil Exploration: Mechanics and Functionality,” ASTRA 2004, Eighth ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automatian, Nordwijk, The Netherlands Nov. 2–4, 2004) (NOROS), developed by Politecnico di Milano and Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics, and the results are summarized in this paper.

Keywords

Hexapod robotLocomotionSymmetricTrajectoryAgility
Type
Article
Information
Robotica , Volume 28 , Issue 6 , October 2010 , pp. 893 - 907
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Rovetta, A. and Paul, E. C., “New Robot Concept for Mars Soil Exploration: Mechanics and Functionality,” ASTRA 2004, Eighth ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automatian, Nordwijk, The Netherlands (Nov. 2–4, 2004) pp. 1–8.Google Scholar
2.Preumont, A., Alexadre, P. and Ghuys, D., “Gait Analysis and Implementation of a Six Leg Walking Machine,” 91ICAR, Fifth International Conference on Advanced Robotics ‘Robots in Unstructured Environments’, Pisa, Italy, Vol. 2 (Jun. 19–22, 1991) pp. 941–945.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Yang, J.-M. and Kim, J.-H., “A Strategy of Optimal Fault Tolerant Gait for the Hexapod Robot in Crab Walking,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Leuven, Belgium, Vol. 2 (May 16–20, 1998) pp. 1695–1700.Google Scholar
4.Yang, J.-M. and Kim, J.-H., “Fault Tolerant Locomotion of the Hexapod Robot,” IEEE Transactions on System, Man and Cybernetics, Vol. 28(1) (Feb. 1998) pp. 109–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Yang, J.-M., “Fault-Tolerant Gait Generation for Locked Joint Failures,” IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Washington D.C., USA, Vol. 3 (Oct. 5–8, 2003) pp. 2237–2242.Google Scholar
6.Yang, J.-M. and Kim, J.-H., “Optimal Fault Tolerant Gait Sequence of the Hexapod Robot with Overlapping Reachable Areas and Crab Walking,” IEEE Transactions on System, Man and Cybernetics, Part A, Vol. 29(2) (Mar. 1999) pp. 224–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Yang, J.-M. and Kim, J.-H., “A Fault Tolerant Gait for a Hexapod Robot over Uneven Terrain,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics—part b: Cybernetics, Vol. 30 (1) (Feb. 2000) pp. 172–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Koyachi, N., Arai, T., Adachi, H., Asami, K. and Itoh, Y., “Hexapod with Integrated Limb Mechanism of Leg and Arm,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Nagova, Japan, Vol. 2 (May 21–27, 1995) pp. 1952–1957.Google Scholar
9.Takahashi, Y., Arai, T., Mae, Y., Inoue, K. and Koyachi, N., “Development of Multi-Limb Robot with Omnidirectional Manipulability and Mobility,” Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE-RSJ International Conference on intelligent Robots and Systems, Takamatsu, Japan, Vol. 3 (31 Oct.–5 Nov., 2000) pp. 2012–2017.Google Scholar
10.Bares, J. and Hebert, M., Kanade, T., Krotkov, E., Mitchell, T., Simmons, R. and Whittaker, W., “Ambler–An Autonomous Rover for Planetary Exploration,” IEEE Computer (1989) pp. 18–26.Google Scholar
11.Kaneko, M., Abe, M. and Tanie, K., “A hexapod walking machine with decoupled freedoms,” IEEE J. Robot. Autom. RA-1 (4), 183–190 (Dec. 1985).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Lee, W.-J and Orin, D. E., “Omni-directional supervisory control of a multi-legged vehicle using periodic gait,” IEEE J. Robot. Autom. 4 (6), 635–642 (Dec. 1988).Google Scholar
13.Krotkov, E. and Bares, J. et al. ,“Ambler: A Six-Legged Planetary Rover,” Fifth international conference on advanced robotics-91 ICAR, Pisa, Italy (1991) pp. 717–722.Google Scholar
14.Wettergreen, D., Thomas, H. and Thorpe, C., “Planning Strategies for the Ambler Walking Robot,” IEEE International Conference on Systems Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Aug. 9–11, 1990) pp. 198–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Hirose, S., Homma, K., Matsuzawa, S. and Hayakawa, S., “Parallel Link Walking Vehicle and Its Basic Experiments (in Japanese),” Sixth Symposium on Intelligent Mobile Robots, (1992) pp. 7–8.Google Scholar
16.Ota, Y., Inagaki, Y., Yoneda, K. and Hiros, S., “Research on a Six-Legged Walking Robot with Parallel Mechanism,” Proceedings of the 1998 IEE WRSJ Intl. Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Victoria, BC, Canada (Oct. 1998) pp. 241–248.Google Scholar
17.Gurocak, H. B. and Peabody, J., “Design of a robot that walks in any direction,” J. Robot. Syst. 15 (2), 75–83 (1998).Google Scholar
18.Lee, B.-H. and Lee, I.-K., “The Implementation of the Gaits and Body Structure for Hexapod Robot,” ISIE 2001. IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, Pusan, South Korea, Vol. 3 (Jun. 12–16, 2001) pp. 1959–1964.Google Scholar
19.Saranli, U., Buehler, M. and Koditschek, D. E., “RHex: A simple and highly mobile hexapod robot,” Int. J. Robot. Res. 20 (7), 616–631 (Jul. 2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Lee, T. T., Liao, C. M. and Chen, T. K., “On the stability properties of hexapod tripod gait,” IEEE J. Robot. Autom. 4 (4), 427–434 (Aug. 1988).Google Scholar
21.Song, S. M. and Choi, B. S., “The optimally stable ranges of 2n-legged wave gaits,” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern.—part b: Cybern. 20 (4), 888–902 (Jul.–Aug. 1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Wang, X.-J., “A Study of Locomotion and Force Planning for Multilegged Walking Robots,” Ph.D. Thesis (in Chinese), (Wuhan, P.R. China: Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Oct. 2005) pp. 95–100.Google Scholar
23.Su, J., “The Research of the Gait Planning and Control of the Multilegged Walking Robot,” Master Thesis (in Chinese) (Wuhan, P.R.China: Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Apr. 2004).Google Scholar
24.Huang, Q.-J. and Nonami, K., “Humanitarian mine detecting six-legged walking robot and hybrid neuro walking control with position/force control,” Mechatronics 13, 773–790 (2003).Google Scholar
25.Kugushev, E. I. and Jaroshevskij, V. S., “Problem of Selecting a Gait for an Integrated Locomotion Robot,” Process Fourth International conference. Artificial Intelligence, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR (Sep. 1975) pp. 789–793.Google Scholar
26.McGhee, R. B. and Iswandhi, G. I., “Adaptive locomotion of a multilegged robot over rough terrain,” IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. SMC-9 (4), 176–182 (Apr. 1979).Google Scholar
27.Porta, J. M. and Celaya, E., “Reactive free gait generation to follow arbitrary trajectories with a hexapod robot,” Robot. Auton. Syst. 47, 187–201 (2004).Google Scholar
28.Erden, M. S. and Leblebicioğu, K., “Free gait generation with reinforcement learning for a six-legged robot,” Robot. Auton. Syst. 56, 199–212 (2008).Google Scholar
29.Kamikawa, K., Arai, T., Inoue, K. and Mae, Y., “Omni-Directional Gait of Multi-Legged Rescue Robot,” Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, New Orleans, LA - 4111 (2004) pp. 2171–2176.Google Scholar
30.Yoneda, K. and Suzuki, K., “Gait and foot trajectory planning for versatile motions of a six-legged robot,”J. Robot. Syst. 14 (2), 121–133 (1997).Google Scholar
31.Chu, S. K.-K. and Pang, G. K.-H., “Comparison between different model of hexapod robot in fault-tolerant gait,”IEEE Trans. Syst. Man. Cybern. Part A 32 (6), 752–756 (Nov. 2002).Google Scholar
32.Gonzalez de Santos, P., Cobano, J. A., Garcia, E., Estremera, J. and Armada, M. A., “A six-legged robot-based system for humanitarian demining missions,” Mechatronics 17, 417–430 (2007).Google Scholar
33.Gonzalez de Santos, P., Garcia, E. and Estremera, J., “Improving walking-robot performances by optimizing leg distribution,” Auton. Robots 23 (4), 247–258 (2007).Google Scholar
34.Rovetta, A. and Ding, X., “Next Steps for Robotic Landers Rovers and Outposts,” ILEWG 2006, Beijing, China (Jul. 2006) pp. 23–27.Google Scholar
35.Rovetta, A., “New Progress on the Novel Robotics Systems for Moon Exploration,” Ilewg 2007, Sorrento, Italy (24–26 Oct. 2006).Google Scholar
36.Wang, Z.-Y., Ding, X.-L. and Rovetta, A., “Structure Design and Locomotion Analysis of a Novel Robot for Lunar Exploration,” Twelfth IFToMM World Congress, Besançon, France (Jun. 2007) pp. 18–21.Google Scholar
37.Rovetta, A. and Paul, E. C., “Design Methodologies for a Colony of Autonomous Space Robot Explorers,” Intelligence for Space Robotics (Howard, A. and Tunstel, E. d., eds.), (TSI Press Series, 2006) pp. 93–112.Google Scholar
38.Chen, J. J., Peattie, A. M., Autumn, K. and Full, R. J., “Differential leg function in a sprawled-posture quadrupedal trotter,” J. Exp. Biol. 209, 249–259 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39.Hirose, S. and Martins, F., “Generalized standard leg trajectory for quadruped waking vehiche,” Trans. Soc. Instrum. Control Eng. 25 (4), 455–46 (1989).Google Scholar
40.Tsujita, K., Tsuchiya, K. and Onat, A., “Adaptive gait pattern control of a quadruped locomotion robot,” 2001 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Hawaii, USA, Vol. 4 (29 Oct.–3 Nov. 2001) pp. 2318–2325.Google Scholar
41.Chen, X.-D., Su, Y. and Jian, W.-C., “Motion Planning and Control of Multilegged Walking Robots,” Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), Wuhan, China (Jun. 2006).Google Scholar
42.Estremera, J. and Gonzalez de Santos, P., “Free gaits for quadruped robots over irregular terrain,” Int J Robot. Res. 21 (2), 115–130 (Feb. 2002).Google Scholar
43.Estremera, J. and Gonzalez de Santos, P., “Generating continuous free crab gaits for quadruped robots on irregular terrain,” IEEE Trans. Robot. 21 (6), 1067–1076 (Dec. 2005).Google Scholar
44.Lee, Y.-J. and Hirose, S., “Three-Legged Walking for Fault Tolerant Locomotion of a Quadruped Robot with Demining Mission,” 2000 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems(IROS 2000), Takamatsu, Japan, Vol. 2 (31 Oct.–5 Nov. 2000) pp. 973–978.Google Scholar
45.Berardi-Gonziilez, C. A. and Martinez-Alfaro, H., “Kinematic Simulator for an Insect-Like Robot,” IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Washington DC, USA, Vol. 2 (2003) pp. 1846–1851.Google Scholar
46.Lee, W.-J. and Orin, D. E., “The kinematics of motion planning for multilegged vehicles over uneven terrain Lee,” Robot. Autom. (see also IEEE Trans. Robot. Autom.) 4 (2), 204–212 (1988).Google Scholar
47.Barreto, J. P., Trigo, A., Menezes, P., Dias, J. and De Almeida, A. T., “FED-the Free Body Diagram Method. Kinematic and Dynamic Modeling of a Six Leg Robot,” Advanced Motion Control (AMC'98), Coimbra, Portugal (29 Jun.–1 Jul. 1998) pp. 423–428.Google Scholar
48.Shkolnik, A. and Tedrake, R., “Inverse Kinematics for a Point-Foot Quadruped Robot with Dynamic Redundancy Resolution,” 2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Roma, Italy (10–14 Apr. 2007) pp. 4331–4336.Google Scholar
49.Chen, W.-J., Yao, S. H. and Low, K. H., “Modular Formulation for Dynamics of Multi-Legged Robots,” Eighth International Conference on Advanced Robotics (ICAR'97), Monterey, CA, USA (7–9 Jul. 1997) pp. 279–284.Google Scholar
50.Erden, M. S. and Leblebicioğu, K., “Torque Distribution in a Six-Legged Robot,” IEEE Trans. Robot. 23 (1), 179–186 (2007).Google Scholar
51.Marhefka, D. W. and Orin, D. E., “Quadratic Optimization of Force Distribution in Walking Machines,” Proceedings of the 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation, Leuven, Belgium (May 1998) pp. 477–483.Google Scholar
52.Silva, M. F., Tenreiro Machado, J. A. and Lopes, A. M., “Performance Analysis of Multi-Legged Systems,” International Conference on Robotics 8 Automation, Washington, DC (May 2002) pp. 2234–2239.Google Scholar